James Potter and the Dinner Dilemma
by Life-After-Death
Summary: James show his first sign of magical ability! Unfortunately, it's during his father's important dinner party.


**Author's Note: **This is a one shot very similar to my other one shot titled, _James' First Magical Ability._ I had both written and couldn't decide between them, so you get both! Enjoy!

"I told you, it was an accident!" a nine-year-old James tried to convince his parents.

And it _had_ been an accident. He hadn't meant to turn Mr. Windsor's hair red and blue, but it had just happened. Mr. Windsor and a few of James' dad's partners from the ministry were over for dinner to discuss some business at work. Mr. Windsor was so boring, and James hated listening to him talk through dinner. He was such a dull person! James was so bored, he started imagining Mr. Windsor with red and blue hair, and suddenly it actually was blue and red. James couldn't help himself, he burst into a fit of laughter, while his parents repeatedly apologized and charmed Mr. Windsor's hair back to the original colour. James had found the whole thing hilarious. He always loved a good prank.

The best part was, it was the first time James had ever shown signs of magical abilities. He was so glad he wasn't a squib. He'd been wanting to learn magic his whole life. He was so proud, and thought his parents would be too.

But, unfortunately, his parents didn't see the situation as funny. They were embarrassed and had excused themselves to go 'deal with James'.

Now he was trying to convince them he hadn't meant to turn Mr. Windsor's hair into a different colour, but it wasn't working.

"I didn't mean to!" James said for the fourth time.

"We know you didn't, but you're still staying in your room for the rest of the night. We aren't taking anymore chances," his father said impatiently.

"Dad!"

"James, that's enough. We know it was an accident, but it was still embarrassing to not only Mr. Windsor, but us as well. We just think it would be best if you stayed here by yourself for awhile," his mum told him.

"But-"

"That's my final word. Stay here, do not come down please. Your mother and I will be back after the guests leave," his father said, shutting the door to his room.

James lay down on the bed and sulked. This was so unfair! He'd been sent to his room over something he had no control over. It wasn't that he'd minded having to stay in his room. Actually, it was a happy alterative compared to being at the boring dinner table. But he hated how his parents made him stay up here, while they went back down to most likely apologize even more for James' mistake. They hadn't even noticed it was his first sign of magical abilities.

For a while now, James had begun to wonder if he was a Squib. He felt that at nine years old, he'd been a bit late to start showing magical abilities. His parents loved him no matter what, but James knew they'd be so disappointed if their only son turned out to be a Squib. But now it was as if they didn't even care.

For the next hour, James only thought about his magical ability and how his parents' didn't seem to care. The more he thought, the angrier he was at them. They hated him, obviously, because they hadn't cared about his magical abilities and they had sent him up to his room, probably because they didn't want to be around them.

And suddenly, James knew what he was going to do. He would run away from home. That way, he wouldn't be around his parents, whom obviously didn't care about him.

James began to pack, throwing some clothes into a bag. He decided to pack light, so there wouldn't be much to carry. He was done within ten minutes, and was trying to figure out how to leave the house without anyone noticing.

He couldn't just walk out the front door; he was too likely to be seen or heard. He couldn't go out the back door because he'd have to pass by the dining room, where someone would definitely see him. He decided his only option was to climb out the window.

His bedroom window led onto the roof, where he could get to a tree right by the house. It would be difficult, but he'd make it.

James was about to climb out the window when he heard a knock on his door.

"James? May we come in?" his mother asked.

"Just a minute!" James called, quickly throwing the bag in the closet before opening the door.

"Hey, James. We wanted to talk to you," his father said as they walked into his room.

His parents sat down on James' bed, and James followed suit.

"We're sorry we were a bit hard on you earlier tonight," his mother said. James couldn't believe it. Were they actually apologizing to him?

"We just felt so surprised to see Mr. Windsor…well, like that. And initially we were embarrassed," his father said.

"I'm sorry for what happened. I was just bored listening to Mr. Windsor, so I started imagining him with red and blue hair, and suddenly he really did _have_ red and blue hair," said James. His parents laughed.

"Well, yes, he can get a bit dull sometimes," his father admitted.

"And it was rather funny seeing him with red and blue hair," his mother added.

"Was he mad?" James asked.

"Oh, no. A bit embarrassed at first, but he laughed about it after his hair was back to normal," his father said.

His mother smiled. "You've shown magical abilities tonight, James. We're so proud!"

"Thanks Mum."

"Of course, we'll miss you someday when you've gone to Hogwarts to learn magic," his father said.

The three hugged and laughed, and James decided maybe they weren't so bad after all.


End file.
